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Tuesday, February 23, 2010 The following is a NASCAR preview for NSCS driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided by Hendrick Motorsports. AT LAS VEGAS: In 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored two top-five finishes and four
top-10s and led 162 laps. Earnhardt tied his career-best second-place finish
in 2008 after leading 17 laps at the 1.5-mile racetrack. Earnhardt
originally posted a runner-up finish at the track in 2003.
POINTS REPORT: Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy
Chevrolet, currently ranks 16th in the Sprint Cup Series championship
standings. He trails leader Kevin Harvick by 89 points.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88
engineers will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-556, which is the
first chassis McGrew built from scratch for Earnhardt. This chassis, which
Earnhardt debuted in 2009 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was used last at
Texas Motor Speedway in November. Earnhardt was running sixth before a
late-race fuel gamble resulted in a 25th-place finish.
ROOKIE STRIPE: This will be McGrew's first Las Vegas Motor Speedway race as
the crew chief of the No. 88 Chevy, but he has experience leading a team at
the 1.5-mile oval. In 2008, McGrew filled in as crew chief for the No. 5 JR
Motorsports team for six NASCAR Nationwide Series events, including the
March race at Las Vegas where he coached driver Mark Martin to Victory Lane.
Darlington (S.C.) Raceway is the final track on the schedule where McGrew
has yet to sit atop the No. 88 pitbox.
HAULER PARADE: Team transporter drivers Dave Radney and Rich Pickrell will
participate in the NASCAR hauler parade on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday.
Starting at 6 p.m. local time, the NASCAR team haulers will drive north on
the Strip, past some of the world's most well-known hotels and casinos.
HENDRICK AT LAS VEGAS: Hendrick Motorsports has scored four wins, 11
top-five finishes and 17 top-10s in 12 events (46 starts) at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.
AMP ENERGY DVD: AMP Energy's "6 Days to Race Day" DVD provides fans with
exclusive footage of how Earnhardt and his No. 88 team prepare each week for
race day. The DVDs are available free on specially marked four-packs of AMP
Energy.
GUARD GARAGE: Visit www.DaleJrGuardGarage.com
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=725%7c7327%7c7667109931
&digest=5rHB4F9oiT%2fotizdvlRTow> and join the Guard Garage Fan Club to
stay up-to-date with Guard drivers and score free ringtones, wallpapers and
more.
FREE JR NATION FAN CLUB: Now race fans can get a free subscription to the JR
Nation Crew Fan Club -- the official fan club of Earnhardt and JR
Motorsports. The club just launched a new Web site complete with chat rooms,
forums and blogs. For more information, visit www.dalejr.com/jrnation
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=725%7c7328%7c7667109931
&digest=YlQgXROYhf%2bZxuaS4Dn%2fhg> .
*****
NATIONAL GUARD YOUTH CHALLENGE: Earnhardt and team owner Rick Hendrick will
attend the National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe dinner Tuesday in Washington,
D.C. The mission of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program is to
intervene in and reclaim the lives of at-risk youth to produce program
graduates with the values, skills, education and self-discipline necessary
to succeed as adults. The dinner recognizes the Youth ChalleNGe Cadets on
their hard work and dedication to the program.
AMP UP THE 88: McGrew will participate in his first live video chat with
fans on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET on AMP Energy's new Web site,
www.ampupthe88.com
<http://click.bsftransmit1.com/ClickThru.aspx?pubids=725%7c7329%7c7667109931
&digest=pkWq2WpUhv%2bLqVhokgkDOw> . The site will feature weekly chats with
a member of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard team, daily sweepstakes
with autographed No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard team memorabilia, videos,
photos and more.
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DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON
LAS VEGAS.): "The track is a lot of fun. They reconfigured the banking (for
the 2007 season), and it's faster. I enjoy running around there. It's a lot
different than it used to be, and it's a pretty unique track. It's
definitely a lot more fun since they reconfigured it."
LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON THE
TEAM'S MILE-AND-A-HALF PROGRAM.): "It's such a big part of what you do.
There are so many mile-and-a-half tracks compared to the short tracks. They
make such a big part of the first 26 races of the season. Your program has
to be strong because you can't sacrifice there and say, 'I'm going to focus
on my short track program.' You can't sacrifice any part of your game and be
successful. I hope to have a strong run at Vegas. I haven't been to Vegas
with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) so it's going to be a little bit of learning
curve. We were really good at Texas last year, and I think we have made some
improvements over the off-season to our mile-and-a-half program so I'm
excited to get to the track."
McGREW (ON RACING AT VEGAS FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH THE NO. 88 TEAM.): "Until
you have been with him at least one time, then you don't have that notebook
to go to. You can't go to your driver and say, 'We did this last time, and
you really liked this or didn't like this.' Sometimes you have to go through
a couple of extra hurdles along the way. As our communication has got better
and better, that has been easier to deal with. So I don't think it will be
that big of a deal."
McGREW (ON WHAT IT TAKES TO BE GOOD AT VEGAS.): "It's not just one thing. On
all of these mile-and-a-half tracks it comes down to who can hold the
throttle down the longest through the corner and make the straightaways as
long as you can because everyone has good horsepower. Everybody has the same
aerodynamic with this car so it's about making the chassis work and getting
the driver comfortable to where he can mash the gas."
*****
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